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MoS Thakur Urges Defence Min Not to Shift ARTRAC

Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, has requested Defence Minister Rajnath Singh not to move Headquarters of Army Training Command (ARTRAC) from Shimla to Meerut.

“The Army Training Command Headquarters has been in Shimla since 1993 and the sudden shift will significantly affect officers of all ranks, a large number of serving personnel, a majority of whom are locals along with an impact on the local business as well as local employment,” he said in a letter to the Defence Minister. He added that Himachal Pradesh had been a strategic location for the Indian Army for many years.

“Shimla provides a conducive environment for the functioning of ARTRAC and the table top airport along with the four-laned highway further contribute to the ease of travel,” he said. “I will urge you to kindly consider the request and not shift ARTRAC out of Shimla.”

The Army Training Command is one of the seven commands of the Indian Army and its main aim is to maximize effectiveness of training. It was established on 1 October 1991 at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and shifted to Shimla on 31 March 1993.

The reason given by senior Army sources for shifting ARTRAC to Meerut was to save funds and better connectivity to Army Headquarters. It is part of the ongoing re-structuring being carried out at several levels by the Army.